I discovered Lauren Brooke Cosmetiques years ago by accident, at a time when I no idea they were a top name in the non-toxic beauty space. I recently rediscovered them, and after realizing they were a great brand in the clean beauty space, I was eager to give them another look. Their ingredient lists are some of the cleanest I’ve seen, and the colors and formulas looked promising.
I ordered samples of every complexion product they carry, except for powder, since I generally don’t use powder products. I also grabbed samples of their botanical sticks, and a couple of eyeshadows and some lippies. I spent a few weeks trying each of these products and gathering my thoughts, which I’m excited to share with you here. Keep in mind that everyone is different. These products are being tested on my oily, somewhat textured skin that is sensitive and prone to breakouts. Your skin may be normal, dry, textured, or perfect, and you might have a different experience than I do with any makeup or skincare product.
Liquid Foundation
This product met my expectations, but it did not necessarily exceed them. I’ve had trouble with most foundations breaking up on my skin – in fact, when my loved and trusted foundation started doing this to me suddenly several years ago, I stopped wearing foundation at all. This one isn’t much different. It broke up on my skin after a few hours, but this was only noticeable close up. The color also oxidized a little, but I think I ordered the wrong color for my complexion, and this might not have been a problem with the right color. Coverage is definitely light to light/medium, which I don’t mind, but I expect just a little more from a foundation. It also had a light floral scent that bothered me, but as I’m sensitive to fragrances, this may not bother most people. I didn’t see any concerning fragrances listed in the ingredients, so it’s probably just the botanicals they use – it doesn’t mean it has toxic fragrance in it.
Now for the good: it held up exceptionally well to my oily skin. I haven’t used a foundation – or any complexion product for that matter – that didn’t get greasy after a few hours of wear time, even matte formulations. This is something I’ve gotten comfortable with, and it doesn’t bother me since I enjoy a healthy “glow.” However, I was super impressed by how well this held up to my oils. Overall, I think this is a decent product as it may not break up on someone else as it does (as many foundations do) on me.
Coverage: light – 3/5
Application: smooth, easy – 4/5
Performance: low-moderate – 3/5
Cream Foundation
The coverage of this foundation is surprisingly light. In my experience, cream foundations tend to be a bit heavier, but I did not find that to be the case here. As someone who is used to wearing next-to-nothing skin tints, I like light coverage, but this was probably as light as my lightest coverage skin tint. Though I could feel it sitting on my face, it was not heavy, despite being a cream. In contrast to the liquid foundation, this one did not break up on me and the color match was better – there was no oxidation that I noticed. This product also shocked me with how well it held up to my oily skin, just like the liquid foundation. There was little to no shine at the end of the day, and this gave me a nice, natural finish. It also had the same light floral scent that the liquid foundation had. Overall, this is lighter coverage than I expected in a foundation, especially one I wouldn’t call weightless, but I think it would be suitable for someone looking for an easy, everyday product that doesn’t feel like you’re wearing too much makeup.
Coverage: light – 3/5
Application: smooth, easy – 4/5
Performance: moderate-good – 4/5
Tinted Sunscreen
When I received my box of samples, I put the tinted sunscreen away in a drawer and forgot about it. It was wintertime, and I was trying to lay off the sunscreen after an HTMA (hair tissue mineral analysis) test indicated that I was a little overloaded in zinc. When I realized a couple of weeks later that I’d forgotten about the sunscreen, I immediately put it on for a test, and was pleasantly surprised. Out of all the complexion products I tried from Lauren Brooke, this one is my favorite. It has the better coverage than the foundations, it still held up reasonably well to my oily skin, and it performed better than the others. The tinted sunscreen has a coconutty smell that doesn’t bother me at all – in fact, I like it! However, it’s worth noting that it feels a little heavier than I expect from a tinted sunscreen, so I wouldn’t call this weightless, but it also offers a little more coverage than I’m used to, so I feel it evens out.
Coverage: light-medium – 4/5
Application: easy, smooth – 4/5
Performance: good – 4/5
Botanical Sticks
I received all of my samples in tiny packets that were difficult to work with, and some had very little product in them. While the sample complexion products were packed full, the botanical sticks and lippies were not. For this reason, they were more difficult to apply as a sample than I think the full-size sticks would have been. Overall, I do like these. The color payoff is great, and the undertones are good for my skin color. The highlighter is a touch too glittery for me – I like a more subtle, dewy glow, but this is a product I wouldn’t mind wearing if I had it, and I think the color will suit a lot of different undertones. The blush was a beautiful pink color with great added coverage on top of a complexion product. There is a fine sparkle to the blush, but it wasn’t overbearing, and I didn’t mind since I didn’t get very oily wearing these products.
The one drawback was that the blush did not seem to last very long on my skin. I had to reapply it throughout the day, which should be easy to do with a stick. I also had trouble applying it, but I think that’s because I had trouble getting it out of the sample pack. The contour stick, however, is one of the best contour colors I’ve seen for my undertone. It was truly neutral and decently dark. I’ve searched high and low for a bronzer or contour that doesn’t look muddy on my face, and this is the first one I felt really fit that description. For that reason alone, I may consider ordering it.
Coverage: excellent – 5/5
Application: as a sample – 3/5, but I think a stick would be better
Performance: low-moderate – 3/5
Cream Concealer
Sadly, this is one product that did not work out for me. Although I did like it under the eyes as a very light concealer or brightener, it didn’t actually conceal much besides that. If you’re using it to boost coverage on one of the other complexion products, it may work for you. I struggle with acne and I was dealing with a break out while testing these products, and this concealer didn’t do much in the way of smoothing or concealing those imperfections.
Eye Products
I received samples of the eye primer and two of the cream eyeshadows. I love cream eyeshadows, but since these are non-toxic and do not contain the chemicals necessary to make them stick, I was skeptical about the performance. I tried the colors Wisteria and Fairy Wings, and they are BEAUTIFUL. Absolutely stunning. I wanted them to work out so badly, but they creased almost immediately on me, even when I tried them with one of my traditional eye primers. I’ve since tried multiple times to get them to stick to no avail. My caveat is this: if I have oily skin, I have disproportionately oily eyelids. My eyes are the only thing I ever powder, and I don’t often wear eyeshadow because my oily lids present such a problem – even for long-wearing formulas. So, if you’re someone who has dry skin or who doesn’t mind a little eyeshadow creasing, it might be worth trying these eyeshadows because they are so smooth and beautiful, but unfortunately, they did not work for me.
Coverage: light-medium 4/5
Application: smooth and easy with my finger – 4/5
Performance: low – 1/5
Lip Products
I tried three of their lip products – the Lip Colour (a lip stick), the ColourFusion Lip Glaze, and the Botanical Lip Gloss. These came in the tiny sample packs and were nearly impossible to dig out. Looking back, I should have picked up a lip brush and used that, but I did not. Instead, I used my fingers or a Q-Tip, which was not conducive to a smooth application. I don’t know how much applying it as I did affected the performance of these products, but my feelings on them are mixed. The lipstick, while a beautiful color and good pigmentation, did not last very well on my lips and I gave up on it pretty quickly. The gloss I ordered was not the best color for me, and it felt more like a wet balm than a true gloss. This is probably a good product for someone who is looking for an almost “bare” look with a little sparkle. The lip glaze was my favorite, and I may actually order it when I’m out of my current go-to lippie since the colors and formula are almost identical. That’s right – the Lauren Brooke Lip Glaze in Soiree is comparable to the Glossier Ultralip High Shine Lipstick I use in Vesper. I’ll get a better feel for this once I use the whole-size product with its applicator, but so far, the performance is mediocre at best, but then again, so are most lip products I use, include the Glossier lipstick.
Coverage: light – 3/5
Application: difficult from the sample pack – 2/5
Performance: low, but expected – 2/5
Overall Thoughts
These are products I would feel good about passing along to my daughter, and they are at the top of my list for when she’s old enough to wear makeup. They were easy to apply, very blendable, and offer a natural, subtle finish that isn’t overdone. While a few did not work for my skin type, they may work for others, and there are a few products here that I may purchase for myself. You can find some of these on Amazon, or you can order the products or their samples straight from the website. I encourage you to check them out, try it for yourself, and let me know what you think.
